Ph.D. in English

The doctoral program in English develops fluency in the critical discourses of the
profession and prepares graduates to teach English professionally on the post-secondary
level, or to enter any number of alternative careers.

Every student admitted to the Ph.D. program receives funding for
up to seven academic years as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (G.T.A.).
This position includes an annual salary of up to $18,500, a tuition waiver, and
student health insurance. Please see Admission page for details. Students may also seek research
assistantships with the journal Victorian Poetry,
the Eberly Writing
Studio, the Appalachian Prison Book
Project, and the Eberly
and Jackson
Professors. These may carry course
reassignments, additional stipends, or both.
Summer teaching is available but not required. Dissertation fellowships are also awarded on a
competitive basis.

The teaching portfolios our G.T.A.s assemble are
exceptionally diverse. In addition to
Composition, Ph.D. students are regularly assigned to undergraduate courses
including American Literature 1 & 2, British Literature 1 & 2,
Shakespeare, Poetry & Drama, Short Story & Novel, Literature of Love
& Sex, Literature of Science & Nature, Literature of Minds &
Selves, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Introduction to Popular Culture,
Business & Professional Writing, and Technical Writing. All instructors, regardless of rank, are
entrusted with the design and administration of their own courses.